McIlroy (67) turns putting around on Day 2 in Boston

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After playing his first three holes in 4 over par on Friday, McIlroy birdied two of his first three holes on his way to a 4-under 67 to move into the top 30 at 4 under par.

It was the Northern Irishman’s best round on the PGA Tour since the Open Championship, but more importantly it may have been his best putting round in the U.S. this summer.

“There's a lot of stuff going on but just really trying to simplify the motion as much as I can and I can get it going on sort of a good arc and trying to keep the putter face square at impact,” said McIlroy, who opened with an even-par 71.“If you can do that, you're going to have a good chance to hole some putts.”

For the day, McIlroy gained 3.42 strokes putting, his best single round since the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship, and he made six putts between 10 and 20 feet. He made only five putts within that range all last week at The Barclays.

“Obviously walking off the course today 4 under for the tournament, it was nice,” McIlroy said. “I've had a good comeback since then and I feel like my game feels good, tee to green feels good, it's just a matter of holing a few putts.”